OH MY GOD, I EXIST, HOLY CRAP GUYS.

I can't apologize enough for the long wait, although at least I gave you warning this time. I still can't promise regular updates until about halfway through June (long story short, I'm sort of testing out of two grades' worth of classes to graduate high school this year, it's complicated) but I will do my best to actually put SOMETHING up here. I've got the next chapter written and I'm working on chapter five right now. Honestly this story and the first third of the next shouldn't be too time-consuming for me since they've been very thoroughly outlined in my notes but outlining isn't the same as writing so I can't guarantee that it'll be easy as pie and updated once a week or anything. I also have lots and lots of other crap going on in my life right now so as far as my priorities are concerned, this has shifted about five spots down in the past few months. But like I said last time this still IS a priority for me because even if it wasn't for the fact that I would feel like a horrible person for not updating I could never stand putting so much effort into a series and then letting all my ideas rot. Right now the story's a little bit bland because the main character is twelve but I should probably warn you now that shit gets serious next year, death and panic attacks and stuff happen, and also torture at some point (it isn't narrated, but it is described first-hand and I don't go easy on the descriptions of the scars either).

So now that THAT'S out of the way..., on with the story?

P.S. If anyone's wondering why Harry didn't ask Cathie to ask Fred and George why Ron wasn't sending him any letters, Harry assumed they weren't sending him letters because they were busy or something (pg. 18, CoS, when he's talking to Dobby, it looks like that's what he's about to say, at least to me; "Friends who don't even write to Harry Potter?" "I expect they've just been - ").

Chapter 3: You Can Always Be Found

Date: Sun. - Mon., August 2-3, 1992

Theme Song: Home by Phillip Phillips

"Hey, Mom?"

"Yes, Cathie?"

"...Mom, do you know why there are bars on Harry's window?"

Cathie's mother closed the book she was reading and joined her in peering out of their own window. "Um," she commented oh-so-eloquently. "Nope, no clue."

"Should I go ask?"

Her mother turned to her, raising an eyebrow.

"Good point."

"You could always just invite Harry over here and then ask him," her mother suggested.

Cathie snapped her fingers. "Great idea! Thanks, Mom!" She slipped some sandals on and dashed out of the house and down the street before knocking on the door to Number 4.

Mr. Dursley opened the door. "Oh, hello, Miss McGinley," he greeted her.

"Hello Mr. Dursley. I was wondering if Harry could come over today?"

He pursed his lips. "Sorry, dear, Harry is grounded."

Grounded? "Oh, um, okay. May I ask for how long?"

"Indefinitely."

Indefinitely?! "Oh, um, I see. Well, thank you for informing me, Mr. Dursley. I'll be on my way."

After exchanging polite goodbyes, Cathie turned away from Number 4 and headed back home. When she entered, her mother looked up from her book. "Well?"

"He's grounded."

"Grounded? For how long?"

"Indefinitely."

"Indefinitely? What does that mean?"

"I don't know!" Cathie raised her hands, emphasizing her confusion. "I just know that he's grounded and Mr. Dursley said it's indefinite."

Her mother frowned, evidently bewildered. "I... see. Um. Maybe we - "

Just then the phone rang, interrupting her. "I'll get it!" Tierney shouted from down the hall connected to the living room.

Her mother continued. "Like I was saying, maybe we could invite the Dursleys over and I can ask why he's grounded. It'd sound better coming - "

"Cathie! It's for you!"

"Sorry, I'll be right back." Cathie got up and headed for the phone, wondering who it was. Both Hermione and Lee had her number, and had called her a few times over the summer. Neville and Daphne couldn't, unfortunately, because they didn't have phones, but apparently Fred and George's father was obsessed with Muggle technology and happened to own a phone, so once they had been disabused of the notion that shouting into the phone would do anything more than break her ears, they had grown fluent in phone usage.

Cathie took the phone from Tierney and put it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hey, Cathie."

"Hi, Fred."

"Harry hasn't answered any of Ron's letters since leaving Hogwarts, and Hermione wrote and said he hasn't answered any of hers either, so George and I figured we would just kidnap him tonight. Since you'll be coming here in a few days anyway, mind if we just kidnap you too and kill two birds with one stone?"

"Considering Harry's grounded indefinitely according to his uncle, kidnap might actually be the best course of action. One second, let me ask my mom." She pulled the phone away and called, "Mom, can Fred and George kidnap me tonight?"

"...Um, I guess? As long as you think you can pack that fast!"

"Cool, thanks!" Cathie put the phone to her ear once more. "So Mom says it's alright for you to kidnap me. What time d'you think you'll get here?"

"I dunno, maybe around two or three in the morning? Just be ready at two. We'll be the ones in the flying blue car. Don't worry, I'll get out and knock when we get there, just be near the front door. See you soon!"

With that, he hung up, leaving Cathie to wonder what it was he meant by flying blue car and hoping very much that it wasn't actually a flying blue car.

Well, it was a blue car, she could see that much. And the only passengers, as far as she could tell, were Fred, George, and Ron.

"Are you driving that thing?" she demanded as she carried her suitcase and Ninja's cage to the trunk of the car.

"Yeah, why?"

"I didn't know you could drive," Cathie mused, surprised.

He shrugged. "Not much to it, really."

Cathie grimaced, continuing to hope that the car didn't fly as she slipped into the backseat. "Hey Ron," she greeted her classmate. "How's your summer been?"

"Not bad, yours?"

"Mine's been good, so f-whoa," she gasped as the car lifted into the sky. "Fred, I thought you were kidding when you said it flew! Where did you three get your hands on a flying car?"

"It's Dad's," Ron explained. "He got it so that he could, well, basically experiment on it."

"Lovely, so I'm riding in an experimentation," Cathie breathed.

"Don't worry, it's totally safe," Ron reassured her. "We flew all the way here in it. He knows lots about cars - very interested in Muggle things."

They came to a stop in midair. "Bars on the window," George commented, and Cathie could practically hear him grimacing in dismay. "Bit more than we bargained for, but I'm sure we'll figure something out. Ron, wake him up, would you?"

Ron rolled down his window and rattled the bars a bit, until Cathie spotted Harry walk over to the window and open it. "Ron!" came the hushed exclamation. "Ron - how did you - what the - ?" He stared at the display before him in bemused awe.

"All right, Harry?" George asked.

"What's been going on?" Ron demanded. "Why haven't you been answering my letters? I've asked you to stay about twelve times, and then Dad came home and said you'd got an official warning for using magic in front of Muggles - "

"It wasn't me - and how did he know?"

"He works for the Ministry," Ron clarified, and continued on with his rant. "You know we're not supposed to do spells outside of school - "

"You should talk," Harry interrupted pointedly.

"He's got a point," Cathie snickered. "Now can the two of you save this for later? Only the longer we hover here, the more likely someone finds us, and then we're all in trouble for underage magic in front of Muggles."

"Alright," Harry agreed, "just tell them at Hogwarts that the Dursleys have locked me up and won't let me come back, and obviously I can't magic myself out, because the Ministry'll think that's the second spell I've done in three days, so - "

"Stop gibbering," Ron sighed exasperatedly. "We've come to take you home with us."

"But you can't magic me out either - "

"We don't need to," Ron retorted, nodding towards Fred and George with a cheeky grin. "You forget who I've got with me."

"Tie that around the bars," Fred ordered, pulling a rope out of the glove compartment and thrusting one end at Harry.

He passed the other end to the backseat. Ron took it from him, leaned out of the window, and tied it to something Cathie couldn't see as Harry informed them all grimly, "If the Dursleys wake up, I'm dead."

"Don't worry, and stand back," Fred said, and he revved up the car until finally Cathie heard crunching and peered out of Ron's window to see the bars fall down past her line of sight. For one horrible moment, she had the bizarre fear that the weight of the bars would yank the car down with them. It didn't. She didn't even notice when they stopped falling. She mentally shook her head at herself.

"Get in," Ron told Harry."

"But all my Hogwarts stuff - my wand - my broomstick - "

"Where is it?"

"Locked in the cupboard under the stairs, and I can't get out of this room - "

"No problem," George interjected cheerfully. He and Fred clambered out of the car and into Harry's bedroom before picking the lock on the bedroom door while Cathie stared.

"I'd forgotten they could do such weird things," she remarked. "That's right, they taught me that last year."

"So how is it, anyway?" Ron inquired. "Being their 'protege.'"

"'Protege?'"

"That's what they've been calling you." Harry handed a small pile of things to Ron, who accepted it and tucked it away on the floor.

Cathie rolled her eyes. "I see. Well, it's interesting, to say the least. Mostly they've been relaying their knowledge of potions to me - George said I'm better at potions now than he and Lee were at my age, so I think they're hoping I'll be better than them eventually and I can take over as the potion-maker of the group."

"Is there, like, a hierarchy?" Ron raised an eyebrow, and Cathie opened her mouth to respond, but then Harry returned with Fred and George, and the five of them got Harry's trunk through the window and nestled between Cathie's knees in no time. Fred and George crawled past her and Ron into the front seat, and Harry made his way onto the windowsill, and Hedwig hooted particularly loudly, and -

"THAT RUDDY OWL!"

"I've forgotten Hedwig!" Harry cried in alarm, and vanished back into his room. Panicked, Cathie shoved the trunk over to Ron's side and dove onto the floor of the car.

"Mr. Dursley can't see me in your car," she hissed in response to Ron's confused look. "He won't let me spend time with Harry next summer if he does."

Cathie sat, crouched uncomfortably in the small space, waiting for the car to start moving. After a few moments, she saw Ron hurriedly accept something from Harry. It turned out to be Hedwig's cage, which he placed on Cathie's seat. Then Cathie heard a loud, furious roar from Harry's bedroom. Mr. Dursley! Tense and anxious, she watched as Ron, Fred and George dove for Harry and started pulling, and listened as Mr. Dursley shouted angrily, until finally Harry slid into car.

"Put your foot down, Fred!" Ron urged, and the car took off into the sky.

Jubilant, Harry stuck his head out of the window and shouted cheekily, "See you next summer!" to everyone's great amusement. "Let Hedwig out," he suggested. "She can fly behind us. She hasn't had the chance to stretch her wings for ages."

George passed a hairpin back to Cathie, who reached up, unlocked the cage, and opened it, allowing Hedwig to dart out of the cage and out of the window to fly right next to the car.

"So - what's the story, Harry?" Ron demanded impatiently. "Doing magic in front of those Muggles you live with - "

"I told you, I didn't - "

"Um," Cathie interrupted. They both looked at her questioningly. "Mind moving the cage? It's a bit awkward down here."

"Right, sorry." Ron lifted the cage and set it on the floor next to her, allowing her to rise and reclaim her seat.

"Anyway, like I said, I wasn't the one who used the spell. It was a - what'd he say he was - a house-elf?"

"A house-elf?" the rest of them echoed.

"Yes, a house-elf named Dobby. See, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were having this fancy dinner with someone important, so they sent me upstairs to pretend I didn't exist, only then Dobby popped into my room and started telling me how someone was planning something horrible at Hogwarts this year. Wouldn't tell me who it was - every time he got close, he would bang his head on something repeatedly until I got him to stop. He was trying to convince me to just stay with the Dursleys all summer so that I wouldn't get hurt when I go back to Hogwarts - apparently he's even been stealing all the letters I've been sent over the summer so that I wouldn't have a reason to go back, but anything's better than the Dursleys so that would never have worked. Anyway, I kept trying to get him to tell me what 'horrible things' were going to happen, but he wouldn't tell me. Finally, because I wouldn't agree not to go to Hogwarts, he went downstairs and levitated a pudding above the head of one of the guests and dropped it, making it look like I did it. Now the Ministry thinks I did it."

Everyone was stunned into silence by the bizarre tale. Cathie was unnerved, to say the least. She wondered, just for a moment, if perhaps she should consider homeschooling for a year via tutor - she had read about it under the Education chapter of Magical Moral Perspective, some students did that rather than attend a boarding school. However, she decided immediately that whatever the cost, there was no way she could go back to her old life, even just for a year, and more than that, she had to be there for Neville and Daphne and her other friends when whatever horrible things happened. She felt ashamed of herself for considering it.

Eventually, Fred broke the silence with, "Very fishy," and George concurred with, "Definitely dodgy. So he wouldn't even tell you who's supposed to be plotting this stuff?"

"I don't think he could," Harry explained. "I told you, every time he got close to letting something slip, he starting banging his head against the wall."

Fred and George exchanged looks, and at once Cathie thought, Oh. Now she just felt foolish.

Harry noticed, too. "What, you think he was lying to me?"

Fred hesitated. "Well, put it this way - house-elves have got powerful magic of their own, but they can't usually use it without their master's permission. I reckon old Dobby was sent to stop you coming back to Hogwarts. Someone's idea of a joke. Can you think of anyone at school with a grudge against you?"

"Yes," the three first-years chorused.

"Remember that kid I caught your attention by pranking all day?" Cathie reminded them. "His name's Draco Malfoy, and he hates Harry with a burning passion."

"Draco Malfoy?" George echoed. He twisted in his seat to face them, mild surprise expressed on his face. "Not Lucius Malfoy's son?"

"Must be," Harry inferred, "it's not a very common name, is it? Why?"

"I've heard Dad talking about him." George frowned. "He was a big supporter of You-Know-Who."

"And when You-Know-Who disappeared," Fred added, glancing over his shoulder at them, "Lucius Malfoy came back saying he'd never meant any of it. Load of dung - Dad reckons he was right in You-Know-Who's inner circle."

Cathie blinked in surprise. "Wait, what did he mean, he never meant any of it?" she inquired. "How do you run around killing people and just not mean it?"

"A lot of people were being forced to kill people by You-Know-Who," Ron contributed. "So some people who really did mean it lied that they had also been forced. You know, Harry, the Malfoys must have a house-elf - rich and pureblood? They're definitely the type."

"Yeah, Mum's always wishing we had a house-elf to do the ironing," George mused. "But all we've got is a lousy old ghoul in the attic and gnomes all over the garden. House-elves come with big old manors and castles and places like that; you wouldn't catch one in our house..."

They got to talking about their pet owl, Errol, and then their brother Percy, and as George said something polishing prefect badges, Cathie found her jaws stretching wide of their own accord to release a yawn. Before she quite knew what was happening, she drifted to sleep.

When she awoke, the car was landing gently on the ground, and Fred was exclaiming cheerfully, "Touchdown!"

Cathie rubbed her eyes and blinked rapidly a few times to clear the sleepiness from them, at least somewhat. She stretched and looked around. They were in a small yard, beside a very weathered garage, and before them was a very tall, oddly lopsided home, looking as though someone had taken the first floor and piled more floors atop it in awkward, precarious positions.

"It's not much," Ron admitted.

"It's wonderful," Harry disagreed, grinning.

"Pretty cool-looking," Cathie put in. She shrugged. "A house is a house, really. It's the people who live there that make the difference."

They exited the car, and Cathie realized suddenly how late - er, early it was. The sun had already begun to rise.

Fred launched into a plan to get away with their actions that night, but it was made fruitless when Cathie spotted a plump, red-haired woman who was clearly their mother leave the house and storm over, her face murderous.

"Ah," Fred commented eloquently.

"Oh, dear," George murmured, clearly bracing himself.

She reached them, and eyed her sons through narrowed eyes. "So."

"Morning, Mum," George greeted her cheerfully, and Cathie resisted bursting into hysterical laughter.

"Have you had any idea how worried I've been?" she hissed, her voice dangerously quiet.

"Sorry, Mum, but see, we had to - "

"Beds empty!" she snarled, and despite the distinctive height difference in their favor she still managed to tower over them. "No note! Car gone - could have crashed - out of my mind with worry - did you care? - never, as long as I've lived - you wait until your father gets home, we never had trouble like this from Bill or Charlie or Percy - "

"Perfect Percy," Fred muttered, and Cathie winced before his mother even responded.

"YOU COULD DO WITH TAKING A LEAF OUT OF PERCY'S BOOK!" She forcefully prodded Fred's chest. "You could have died, you could have been seen, you could have lost your father his job - " She ranted and raved for what seemed like hours, especially to Cathie's gradually slipping eyelids and empty stomach. When she seemed to be satisfied, she turned to face Cathie and Harry. "I'm very pleased to see you, Harry, dear. And - I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met?"

"No - sorry - my name is Cathie McGinley, ma'am."

"Oh, of course, they told me about you - I'm Mrs. Weasley." Her eyes narrowed again. "They didn't kidnap you too, did they?"

"No, no, they didn't, don't worry," Cathie assured her before she could shout at them again. "My mom said it was alright."

"Well, that's alright, then. Come on in, you two, and have some breakfast, I'm sure you're both starving..."

Well, that was half of Cathie's current dilemma gone. She eagerly followed Mrs. Weasley into the house, and after watching Harry sit down, she hesitantly sat next to him, fighting not to fall asleep in her seat. Ron took the seat on his other side, and George sat down on her other side with Fred next to him. Mrs. Weasley continued to rage at Ron, Fred and George, albeit in a milder manner than before, and try as she might Cathie could not keep her eyes open for the life of her. George had to poke her awake when food was served.

"Thanks," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes again and stifling another yawn. She blinked at the food before her. "Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," she called politely. "This looks absolutely delicious."

Mrs. Weasley smiled at her before scolding her children some more.

Ravenous, Cathie ate with as much restraint and class as she could manage, unsure of how important manners were considered in the Weasley home. She finished soon enough, although not before Ron, and waited for the rest to finish too, hoping Harry might ask where they were sleeping so that she wouldn't have to.

"Blimey, I'm tired," Fred yawned, and Cathie looked over through half-lidded eyes to see that he was finished, and George was very close. "I think I'll go to bed and - "

"You will not," Mrs. Weasley corrected him sharply. Cathie winced, feeling bad for them. "It's your own fault you've been up all night. You're going to de-gnome the garden for me; they're getting completely out of hand again - "

"Oh, Mum - "

"And you two," she added, glaring at Ron and George. "You can go up to bed, dears," she reassured Harry and Cathie. "You didn't ask them to fly that wretched car - "

"I'll help Ron," Harry interjected immediately, and Cathie glanced at him to see that he was perfectly bright-eyed and energized. "I've never seen a de-gnoming - "

"I'll help, too," Cathie offered, feeling it would be rather rude to go to sleep while her hosts worked. She made the least-sleepy expression she could manage.

It didn't work. Everyone burst into laughter. Even Mrs. Weasley chuckled, looking at her kindly. "Cathie, dear, you were practically sleeping while you ate. It's quite alright, you can go up to sleep. Ron, why don't you show her to her room?"

Cathie could muster no further protest, and she gathered her things before Ron led her away from the table and down a narrow hallway. At the end was a slightly lopsided staircase, which rather suited the house, Cathie thought, and they followed it up its fluctuating path until they reached the first landing, on which Ron walked up to a closed door and knocked. No one answered. Frowning, Ron knocked again, but there was still no answer. "Hang on a second," he said, and continued up the staircase. Cathie leaned against the door, and a few seconds later, Ron returned with a small, red-headed, freckled girl.

"Hello, you must be Cathie," she greeted. "I'm Ginny - Ron's little sister. It's nice to meet you."

"Uh, you too," Cathie responded.

"Here, come on in - this is where you'll be sleeping." She opened the door and stepped inside. Cathie turned to say goodbye to Ron, but he had already vanished. Shrugging, she followed Ginny. It was a relatively small room, but not too small. There was a large window that offered a beautiful view, and the walls were heavily accented with posters of a group of guys, probably in their early twenties, who Cathie thought might be a band, as well as a young woman donning dark green robes and Quidditch gear, equipped with a Beater's bat and broomstick in most posters. There was also a dresser and two beds on either side of the room, both adorned with very plain bedding. "I love your room," Cathie told Ginny, moving forward to look out the window. "It has lots of personality."

"Thanks!"

Now, she could see that the view was even better up close. There was a very pretty orchard down below, and Cathie spotted Fred, George, Ron, and Harry doing - er - she had no clue. Too tired to really care, she turned to Ginny and asked, "Which bed is mine?"

"The one over there." Ginny pointed to the bed behind Cathie.

Cathie set her things down beside the bed and sat on it. "I should probably brush my teeth and change into my pajamas before bed, but I'm exhausted," Cathie yawned.

"I bet you are - I can only imagine how long the five of you were driving." Ginny knelt down beside Ninja's cage. "You have a gorgeous cat - may I let her out?"

"Oh, yeah! Thanks for reminding me - I'm sure she'd appreciate that - " Cathie went through her things until she found Ninja's dish and food. She set the dish down near Ninja's cage as Ginny opened it, and Ninja shot out like a bullet. Cathie filled half of the dish with food, which Ninja fell on with great gusto. Cathie looked at Ginny. "Um, could you tell me where your bathroom is please? I need to give her water."

"Oh, let me do it," Ginny insisted. "You go to bed - you look like you'd fall asleep on the way."

"Thank you," Cathie agreed, flushing.

"No problem." Ginny managed to get the dish away from Ninja and carried it out of the room. Cathie climbed into bed, and with Ninja immediately curling up on her stomach, she fell asleep.